Determinant
by Lady Lychee
Summary: Despite the passing of years, feelings still remain and Clementine must choose how to act on them. (T for language) (One-shot)


"Remember to keep both eyes on the target. Aim for the head, okay?" The small hands awkwardly gripped the pistol, the shape cumbersome. The larger hands guided the small fingers to the correct positions as the child's arms struggled with the weight of the firearm.

"Okay!"

"Good," Clementine smiled at the young child as she carefully pulled the gun away from him. "That's enough practice for today. You did good!" She smiled as AJ grinned giddily up at her, pulling the trucker cap down.

"Yay! But when do I get to shoot?" AJ hopped onto a log, his hands still tugging at the hat's bill.

"Not 'til you're strong enough to hold the gun by yourself," Clementine kneeled beside a navy backpack, the dew covered grass soaking into her jeans as she reloaded the pistol. The morning sun reflected off of the tiny drops of water and warmed her knees. The sky was the colour of a bruise, deep blue and purple as the morning stars faded. She glanced at the little boy, who was busy hopping on and off of the log. She watched Kenny's hat flop with each of his hops with a sad smile. She had given AJ the hat a week prior and told him of the man who bequeathed it to him. Whenever he could, AJ would ask her about the man with a beard and an eye patch in addition to his parents. Clem looked back at her pack to blink away the tears and memories that threatened to surface.

AJ had just turned four and she decided that now would be a good time to teach him the basics of at least holding a gun. All of the adults at Wellington had told her to wait until he was five, but she knew that she might not be able to wait that long. He needed to learn how to if he wanted to survive, and boy, she really wanted him to survive.

Survival. It was all she thought about. It was what she breathed, dreamed, and talked about. It was the thought that lingered in everyone's minds and drove every decision. It was what had kept her alive since Lee. It was what drove her now, for AJ. She stood and offered her hand to the child, who took it quietly. It had been four years and she was now fifteen. Although she had not matured physically too much, it was still enough for her to no longer be able to pass off as a child. Despite this, she was still as strong as ever.

"Clem, how come we never get to stay out here?" AJ looked up at the older girl.

"I told you, silly. We have to go back home, or everyone will be worried."

"Then how come everyone doesn't come out here? Then nobody'll be worried at all."

"Because it's not safe for everyone to be out here."

"Oh. But what if-"

Clementine squeezed AJ's hand hard, a signal for him to immediately be quiet. She stopped in her tracks and heard a quiet thud behind her. It wasn't a sound from the surrounding forest. She began walking again. There it was. The sound of footsteps. It was quiet, but it was definitely there, accompanied by a very quiet creak of some sort. The footsteps were clumsy. Hopefully, the person making them was injured and could be outran. She stopped again, hearing another thud and creak. She quickly dashed to the side, toward the trees and pushed AJ as carefully as she could into a bush. She pulled out her pistol and peeked around a tree.

A man was walking toward their hiding place. She narrowed her eyes and hefted the firearm in her hands. He knew they were there. He seemed familiar somehow, but she couldn't place her finger on who he was. She knew she had two choices; she could either wait until he got closer to take him, or to jump up now and threaten him.

"Hands up!" She jumped up, immediately aiming at the man. He held his hands up, his blue eyes wide in fear.

He looked to be about twenty. His short, brown hair was stuck to his forehead with blood, the left lens of his glasses cracked. His purple hoodie was mostly unzipped, a white t-shirt underneath that was stained with dried blood. Clementine narrowed her eyes at this man. Something was definitely familiar about him. But what?

"What do you want?" She demanded. His lips trembled, as if trying to speak through his fear. "Speak up!"

"I-I…" He stuttered before he narrowed his eyes as well. His arms began to lower slowly.

"Hands up, I said!" She let her finger squeeze the trigger slightly, though she hoped she didn't have to pull it.

"Y-you… You're.. uh, C-Clementine, yes? I did not recognize you." The man continued to lower his arms, his accent drawing out the words.

"How do you know my-" Suddenly, realization hit her and anger filled her veins. She raised her pistol and pointed it more directly at him. "Leave. Right now."

Arvo let his arms drop, though he kept his hands up. "Please, I need help."

"Oh, because the last time I helped you, it went so well!" She glared at the Russian.

"No, I promise you. No more tricks. I need help! Please!" He pleaded. He took a slow step towards her, his leg brace creaking.

"Why should I help you?" She gritted her teeth.

"It is Mike! He needs help! I promise!" His eyebrows furrowed in worry.

Clementine bit the inside of her lip, her stomach fluttering. Could Mike really still be alive after all this time? Or could Arvo be pulling another trick on her? She felt her shoulder ache in remembrance of the last time she was this close to the Russian man. She glared.

"Where's Bonnie?"

"Back at the camp. Helping Mike."

"What do you need?" She stepped in front of the bush slowly, her eyes examining him. He wasn't armed from what she could see. If he was telling the truth, maybe would be able to come back to Wellington with her. Sure, their betrayal hurt, but she understood why they wanted to leave. Arvo, on the other hand…

"Bandages. A-and something to sew it up with. I will show you!" Arvo tried to plead again.

"How can I trust you?"

"Because I am telling the truth! I know I did bad in the past, yes, I know, but now I really need your help!"

Before she knew what she was doing, Clementine grabbed Arvo by the collar and pushed him as hard as she could against a nearby tree.

"You did 'bad'?! You were responsible for getting Luke and Jane killed! You shot me in the shoulder! And you think you can waltz over here and ask for my help?!" She spoke between gritted teeth, her pistol pressed against his temple. Tears flowed freely from his eyes as he tried to shy away from the gun.

"I tried to help you Arvo! I couldn't let Kenny beat you and I tried to help you! But no, you had to shoot me! Do you know how long it took for that to heal?! How much it hurt?! Do you know how much trouble you caused?! I should fucking shoot you!"

"No, please!" His voice cracked, "I know! I did bad! I did very bad! I'm very sorry! Very, very sorry! I couldn't forgive what happened to Natasha-"

"Natasha turned! I had to shoot her!"

Arvo's eyes widened when he heard her words. He looked at her disbelievingly. "N..No! She was alive! I saw her move!"

"She moved because she turned! I had to shoot her or she'd kill me and AJ!"

Arvo's breath began to shudder. Clementine knew that she should have backed down, but she felt her anger control her actions once again, "You aren't the first one to have someone you cared about killed! For every one person you cried about, I cried about three! You are not special!"

He looked up at her through his tears, his eyes betraying his fear of the young teenage girl who glared at him with the same rage and pain that he had given her those years ago.

"And if you're lying about Bonnie and Mike, I will fucking shoot you. I'm not lying about that." She pressed the pistol a bit harder against his head.

"I am not lying. Please.. please.. just help us. Clementine, I am sorry. I am very, very sorry. I am now regret what happened. Please let us leave it behind. Come help us now. Please." Arvo's voice cracked once again. "I don't want to see more people dead. Mike and Bonnie… they were good to me. They were good to you. Please. Let us be friends now. Kill me later. I don't care. Help Mike!"

Clementine felt her anger drain away as her eyes locked with Arvo's. She could forgive him. She could let her anger go. She could let him show her where Mike and Bonnie were. Although she had given up on Christa, here was a new hope that someone she cared about was still alive, even if it came from Arvo. On the other hand, she could end him right there. Not listen to him anymore. Return him to Natasha. Avenge Luke and Jane.

She could feel the weight of the gun in her hand and knew she had two choices.

**[Shoot Arvo]** ** [Forgive Arvo]**

Clementine hefted the gun in her hand and closed her eyes.

She let go of Arvo's collar and stepped back, dropping her weapon.

Clementine had chosen to forgive Arvo, and she knew that he would remember that.

"Clem?" She opened her eyes and looked beside her. AJ stood there, his small face scrunched up in worry. She hadn't seen him there.

"Oh thank you, Clementine! Thank you!" Arvo held the girl's shoulders and kissed her cheeks in gratitude, to which she wiped them with her sleeves.

"Don't do that again. Ever." She frowned. AJ giggled. "Now show us where Bonnie and Mike are. If this is a trap…"

"No, I promise! Not a trap!" Arvo immediately set off, hobbling as quickly as his brace would let him. Clementine took AJ's hand. "Follow me!"

"Clem, are we going home yet?"

"No, not yet. I need to go help some friends." As she followed Arvo with AJ in hand, a thought suddenly came to her mind.

"Sometimes, people don't make sense." Lee's voice said.

She silently agreed.


End file.
